The Second Ghost
by xGhostx
Summary: The book Ghosts, only edited and made 10x better.


As I stared across the street looking at the cars that zoomed by in New York I thought to myself: What am I doing here? Recently, actually a few years ago I was transferred off Fort Knox in Kentucky to go into Task Force 141 with Gary Sanderson who also goes by Roach, Captain John MacTavish, and a man named Ghost whom I have only heard of from stories. This kind of transfer was a nonnegotiable one where my commanding officer asked me even though there was only one answer. During my time at Fort Knox I helped train the newbies who came in for basic training. I stood next to the Drill Sergeants and helped out whenever I was needed, mostly for demonstration. This wasn't the ideal job so leaving to go to Task Force 141 seemed like the primal idea at the time. Now that I look back on what I went through during the time I was with 141 I now realize that being a Drill Sergeant is nothing compared to being next to MacTavish, Ghost, and Roach.

*A Few Years Ago*

The smell of the dirt the tires crossed was a smell I was used too. Growing up in the country where I was surrounded by dirt made the scent go into a normal feeling instead of a disgusting smell most people would wince at. I looked out the window at the country side, the last time I had seen grass was before I joined the army. Fort Knox was not one that was known for its pleasant grass but one that was known for its wonderful brown dirt.

The truck stopped when it reached a small camp. Before I was able to notice the dirt stopped too and I was now in a small forest. My whereabouts were quite unknown at the moment but I decided to go with the flow and hop from the truck. A man approached me from a green tent beside a large pine tree. He held out his hand and smiled under his scraggly mustache and beard. "You must be Rubella Thompson; I'm John MacTavish, the one who called for you."

"Ah, yes, I have heard a lot about you and your team; I appreciate you picking me to be part of your squad." I shook his hand, a smile coming to my face. This motion was hard to resist, he looked so strange with so much hair on his face. I would have to insist he shave it off later on once everything calmed down. I looked back over at the man who was driving at the truck. He stood next to it with a man with him, talking casually amongst themselves. The man whom the truck driver spoke to was quite attractive for the ripe age of 50. I couldn't say I was extremely attracted to him but I have to admit, he has some fascinating details that can catch the eye of a lady. He looked over at me and raised his head as a motion of question toward the truck driver. My head turned back toward MacTavish who was focused on something in the woods now instead of me. I hated staring, it was awkward and being stared at can't be too much better. Once the truck left the attractive man who talked to the driver walked over to MacTavish and nodded.

"Ghost, this is Rubella Thompson: she will be joining us." MacTavish wasn't facing me now but was facing this _Ghost _figure.

"So you are the famous Rubella, MacTavish wouldn't stop talking about your arrival when he sent Corporal Dunn after you." Ghost crossed his arms. I stared up at him, he was so much taller than me, at least a foot. I couldn't see his face; a balaclava covered it, and on the balaclava was a skull. I stepped back from the tall Ghost and looked back at MacTavish, hoping he would explain things to me but he just stared off into the woods.

"Ghost, moving objects in the distance; take Roach and Rubella into the woods and see what's going on." MacTavish walked back into his tent and closed the cloth door. The man named Roach walked out from his tent and grabbed two guns from a large plastic box that was laying next to the green tent. He walked over to Ghost and I and tossed the second silenced ACR at me. I caught it and looked over the ammo before walking off into the forest with the two men.

"Do you know what he saw?" Ghost asked me. I shook my head and continued to move through the forest. I stopped when I saw something move in the distance. I pointed toward the trees about fifty yards in front of us and Ghost nodded, taking Roach with him to investigate. I hooked the ACR onto my back strap and climbed up the nearest tree. When I reached the appropriate branch I laid down on my stomach and pulled the ACR back out and aimed down my holographic sight. I saw Ghost and Roach as they searched through the bushes. To their right there was more movement. I turned my sights and the gun to my right and saw a man in a Russian uniform aiming his gun at Roach. I pulled the trigger of my ACR and he went down into the brush. His friend poked his head up long enough to get a head shot on him. Ghost turned and looked toward where I shot from and scratched his head. As they started to walk back toward where we split up I continued to scan the area around us.

"Rubella?" Ghost asked, looking around the trees. I looked down and put the ACR back onto my back. My legs relaxed and I swung them down into the air so that I was hanging by my hands. They both looked up, I could sense smiles. I let go and touched the ground as I crouched. Turning I took my gun back out and nodded at them. "Were there only two of them?" I nodded and we headed back to the two tents that were set up in a small opening of the forest. MacTavish was waiting for us when we got back.

"I don't know who we should be calling Ghost anymore." Roach shrugged and walked off with the two guns he got out of the box and put them back into their rightful place. MacTavish narrowed his eyes at Ghost who sighed.

"My title is being stolen from me. Rubella over here pretty much went ghastly on us and disappeared only to save our asses… those damn trees." Ghost explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Captain MacTavish… can I request something?"

"It's MacTavish, and yes?" He looked over at me.

"I would recommend shaving… children might mistake you for Saint Nick or Santa in his younger years." I knew I had just crossed a line but he really needed to shave. Ghost laughed through his mask and turned his head slightly.

"We've been trying to get him to do that for months." Ghost shrugged.

"For you my dear, I think I will." MacTavish grinned, winked and began to walk back toward his tent when Roach stopped him and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Excuse me, but did you just agree to shave because of a woman?"

"She didn't call me old and scraggly and gross."

"This is why I don't talk to you, or request things to you." Roach walked off and joined Ghost in a discussion.

I shrugged my shoulders and went to the edge of the tree line to look out at the country side, how I missed this. The feeling of touching the grass on a warm day, or even a cold day, was so much better than having to touch dirt. But even happiness comes at a price; sometimes that price is too much to bear, even for someone who was now considered high up on the food chain. Sometimes it's better to hide things than to let them out, especially when it comes to who your father is. And my father, my father is the key to my despair.


End file.
